Letter to the Editor

Bottle-bill changes meet dead end

The people of Iowa should be very angry at the total waste of time and money the Legislature spent on trying to change Iowa's bottle bill.

The environmental protection subcommittee voted 200 to allow HF 800 to go to the full House for debate. They spent the first couple of months in session putting together a bill to increase the handling fee for redemption centers.

Now, even with the unanimous subcommittee vote, the House has decided to not debate the issue at all. Redemption centers' costs have increased to the point where most centers may have to close because of lack of funding.

What is the big deal? Well, the big deal is that without redemption centers, millions of cans will find their way back into the ditches, waterways and landfills. Thousands of jobs will be lost and over 100 small businesses will close.

The bottle bill costs the taxpayers nothing but gives huge returns. It's time to vote on the bottle bill and give small business a chance.

- Rosemarie Shepard,
Montezuma.